water cycle Flashcards
what is the water cycle
the continous movement of water around the hyrosphere lithosphere cryosphere atmosphere and biosphere in a closed system
what sort of system is the water cycle
a closed system
what is the largest body of water
the oceans 72%
what is permafrost
frozen ground that has remained frozen for at least two consecutive years
what are alpine glaciers
a glacier that is confined by surrounding mountain terrain;
why is the ocean salty
high levels of sodium chloride
why is water vapour important
it reflects and scatters incoming solar radiation
positive feedback of temperature
rising global temps lead to more evaporation, this then causes more latent heat to be released, so more h20 in atmosphere and then temps continue to rise
what is the dewpoint
the temperature where water vapour turnss into a liquid, the higher the dewpoint the more liquid
what is the process of liquid turning to gas
evaporation
what does evaporation depend on
temperature
availibility of water
humidity of air
availability of insolation
process of gas turning into liquid
condensation
process of liquid turning into solid
freezing
process of solid turning into liquid
melting
process of solid turning to gas
sublimation
